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Perspective from two wheels

Toronto Police paying more attention to e-bikes

Not a pedal bike, not a scooter and definitely not a motorcycle, e-bikes seem to be causing some confusion about how this new form of transportation should be regulated.

Currently in Toronto, here are some key rules for e-bikes:

You have to be 16 years old to drive one

You can’t ride in bike lanes

You have to wear a helmet

But unlike scooters, e-bikes don’t require a licence or insurance.

Unfortunately for e-bike riders, I don’t think a lot of people like them. For drivers, they are slow in their lanes (they can only go a max of 32 km/h). For cyclists, it’s frustrating when they end up in your bike lanes because it’s illegal and could be dangerous.

CBC featured an interesting video on e-bikes yesterday, showing that some are completely unaware about the rules of the road. Watch it here.

For the most part, I think e-bikes are stuck in this weird place, and both cyclists and drivers are frustrated by them.

If you ride an e-bike, I’d love to hear from you and learn more about your perspective.

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2 thoughts on “Toronto Police paying more attention to e-bikes”

I saw the CBC story yesterday and encountered an e-bike today while driving. It was annoying because the driver was just driving in my lane like a car, nothing like a bicycle that can ride beside you, and was going super slow. I also don’t think you should be able to operate anything motorized without a license or insurance. It’s just not safe in my opinion. On the flip side, I like that they are an eco-friendly way to get around. Like many things in this city, they were thrust upon us before much thought or planning went into the idea. Hopefully we’ll catch up.

as a school crossing guard on a major Toronto street I can safely say that generally cars,motorcycles and e-bike riders generally stop at red lights,90 % plus i’d say.The only things on the road that DON’T follow the rules are bike riders……less than 50% probably.I find it hilarious that those are the people that don’t want to share the bike lanes with e-bikes.